Young
by AnimeFlowerGirl
Summary: Momo Fujioka was young, too young to know what love is. At least, that's what everyone thought. Is it possible for the young princess to grow out of her unattainable crush or will time only make her feelings stronger?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: Medias Res**

The Host Club thought that Momo Fujioka was in love with their boy Lolita, Mitsukuni Haninozuka. After all, her cheeks were always blazing red whenever she was with him and, on more than one occasion, they saw her sneaking glances at him whenever she could. Hani seemed to be taken with the young Fujioka as well, always clinging to her arm and asking her to sit with him and his cousin. The two of them were a perfect match, in their opinion. Though they were clearly on opposite sides of Japan's social hierarchy, with him being the heir of the Haninozuka family and she the youngest daughter of the Fujioka family – mere commoners, they got a long like two peas in a pod.

When the Host Club first visited the Fujioka residence, much to Haruhi's chagrin, Momo and Hani seemed to be drawn to each other. She talked to him the most out of everyone in the club, except, of course, her older sister. Momo and Hani were always sitting together eating sweets (most of the time cakes bought from a well known, and expensive, bakery and other times cookies that the girl baked herself) and playing with the stuffed rabbit, Usa-chan. When there were no club activities scheduled, Momo and Hani would take naps together.

The Host Club thought that it was only a matter of time before one of them confessed their feelings. Imagine the shock they had when they found Hani eating a two-tier cake with his loyal rabbit, alone.

"What's the deal, Haruhi? Hikaru whispered from behind the sofa, his eyes focused on the young blond, swinging his legs as he took another bite out of his cake.

"What are you talking about?" Haruhi asked, disinterested. She was studying a particularly difficult lesson that was discussed earlier that day when the Hitachiin brothers dragged her behind one of the many sofas in the Music Room to watch their senpai.

"I thought you said Momo-chan was going to confess her feelings to Hani-senpai today?" Kaoru said in an equally soft voice.

Haruhi frowned. "I said that?"

"Yes. You did," the twins said in unison. "You said Momo-chan made the decision to confess last night."

"Oh yeah..." Haruhi trailed off, the memory of Momo's flushed cheeks entering her mind. She had made the announcement during dinner, surprising her and nearly sending their father into cardiac arrest. "That explains why she isn't here..."

"But that doesn't explain–" Hikaru began.

"–Why Hani-senpai is here." Kaoru continued. "If she's confessing to Hani-senpai–"

"–Shouldn't she be with Hani-senpai?" Hikaru ended.

Haruhi pondered on what her classmates said. "Well, maybe she changed her mind about confessing." She paused. "Or she's not confessing to Hani-senpai."

"THAT'S IMPOSSIBLE!"

The first-year trio turned to see that Tamaki was suddenly behind them, his face aghast.

"Oh, since when did you get here, boss?" The twins asked in unison.

Tamaki frowned, restraining himself from going into his corner. How dare his subjects not notice his kingly presence?

"I was just about to save my darling Haruhi from you devils when I overheard your conversation," the blonde said, his tone regal. "It's impossible for Momo-chan to confess to someone other than Hani-senpai." Tamaki pinched his chin in thought. "It's so obvious that those two are smitten with each other. They get along so well–"

"It's not like Hani-senpai is her only friend, you know." Haruhi reminded the twins and Tamaki. "For all we know, she could have had a crush on Chika-kun or Satoshi-kun."

Tamaki, Hikaru, and Kaoru all looked at Haruhi and thought about the young Haninozuka and Morinozuka. It was likely that Momo would like either of them but they only ever pictured her with their senpai. Thinking about her with someone else, though more age appropriate (maybe), felt a bit off. It didn't make sense to them.

"You've got it wrong, Haru-chan," Hani laughed, looking at his kohais over his shoulder. The cake he was eating was long gone and his stuffed animal was now cradled in his arms as opposed to sitting in front of him. "Momo-chan doesn't like Chika-chan or Satoshi-chan."

"What about you, Hani-senpai?" Tamaki asked.

Hani shook his head, a small smile on his lips. "She doesn't like me that way either, Tama-chan."

"Then who–" Hikaru tilted his head to the left

"–Does she like?" Kaoru tilted his head to the right.

The door to the music room opened and Momo Fujioka walked in, her face a deep red and her eyes slightly watery. She was out of breath and her hair was windswept. She was panting when the Host Club turned their attention to her. She quickly wiped her eyes.

"I'm so sorry," she apologized, her voice wavering. "I shouldn't have barged in like that."

Haruhi was the first to approach her. "Are you okay, Momo?"

Momo smiled. "Of course, sis." No one else was in the room. She did not need to pretend that Haruhi was her brother. "I'm just... I'm just a little overwhelmed."

"Don't tell us," Hikaru stood to her left.

"You got rejected?" Kaoru stood to her right.

"W-what?" If it was possible, Momo's face turned even redder. "How–"

"Hikaru! Kaoru!" Tamaki scolded. "Don't be so insensitive! Princess Momo's heart has been shattered and you shouldn't treat this situation so callously!"

"You're being insensitive, senpai." Haruhi muttered, leading Momo to an empty table. "You're the one yelling about it."

Tamaki gasped. "How can you say such a thing, Haruhi!?" He whined. "I was only–"

Momo blocked out Tamaki's voice and looked down on her lap. She hung out with the Host Club enough times to know what would happen next. Tamaki would rant about how he was only looking after his daughter (Momo was adopted by him against her will, just like her sister), Haruhi would point out that he wasn't doing that at all, Tamaki would be offended, the twins would rub it in, Haruhi would sigh and mumble about how troublesome the man was. It was a tiresome routine, for everyone involved whether they took entertainment out of it (the twins) or not (everyone else).

"Momo-chan, what happened?" Hani took Momo's hands in his and peered into her eyes. "Did he really turn you down?"

"Hani-senpai..." Momo said softly, her heart pounding erratically against her chest. "I... It's... I don't know..."

Hani smiled. "Come, let's eat some cake and you can tell Usa-chan and I all about it, okay?"

In all the commotion, it was only Kyoya, who was quietly minding his own business, who noticed Mori entering the room, hands in his pockets and expression blank. Kyoya watched the taller man take in what was happening in the Music Room, Tamaki in his corner, Haruhi and the twins just a few feet away from him, and his cousin and Momo having cake. Momo's back was to him so she was unaware of his presence. Mori walked over to Kyoya and sat across from him. Kyoya smirked and turned his attention back to his computer, typing.

"You're lucky Tamaki and the others are occupied otherwise they would have pieced two and two together," the third son said casually. "I take it that's why you took your time coming up here?"

"Hm," Mori hummed in affirmation, his eyes glancing to the table where his cousin sat. He knew that Hani saw him and why he didn't acknowledge him.

"Momo is still just a child," Kyoya mused. "She'll get over it. She'll move on."

Mori smiled, accepting the Shadow King's rare offer of comfort. Though it was not what he wanted to hear, per se. "Yeah."

"But, Mori-senpai," Kyoya continued, surprisingly, looking up from his laptop. "Is that what you really want?"

In true Mori fashion, he stayed quiet.

* * *

 _Hello, readers! I'm sorry if this first chapter is a bit confusing but, true to the title, this chapter is in medias res (in the middle of things). I really thought long and hard about how I was going to start this fanfic and, in the end, this is is what I decided to do. I wanted you guys to have a clear image of who is going to be the couple of this story (if it wasn't obvious, it's supposed to be Mori and Momo). I thought about making you guys go through the same things as the Host Club, in other words, make you guys think that Momo was in love with Hani but I thought that would be tiring and difficult to explain. I didn't want Momo and Mori's relationship to be THAT out of the blue so yeah. I hope you all enjoyed this first chapter and would swing by again for the next and the next and the next!_

 _Thank you for taking the time to read my work and I hope to see a review by you! I would to know what you all think._

 _I apologize for any typos and grammatical errors this chapter may have._

 _I only own what I own._

 _PS Please excuse my spelling of Hani's name. I know that most of you spell it as Hunny or Honey (which is how it is spelled in the manga) but I feel more comfortable spelling it as Hani seeing as it comes from his last name Haninozuka. I don't know. It's just preference, I guess._

 _PPS. I don't know how to phrase this question exactly but how do you guys read fanfic? Like, do you change the format? Personally, I like making the font bigger and reading the paragraphs when they're 1/2. It makes the chapter seem longer. I don't know if you understood my explanation haha... Apologies._


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: The Curse of Love**

Momo Fujioka was fourteen years old. She was over and done with puberty. Her pimples have faded and, thankfully, didn't leave any scars and her growth spurt came and went in a blink of an eye. Unfortunately for her, she only grew to be as tall as her sister, which wasn't really much. Haruhi was only 155 cm tall. It seemed like none of them inherited their father's height.

With the woes of puberty out of the way, Momo knew that most girls her age were now focused on growing up in other ways. They were going to be high school students and left and right Momo saw her classmates experimenting with new hairstyles and make up and friends and boys.

Momo felt like she was being left behind. Her classmates' futures were more or less planned out for them already. All they had to do was make friends (connections, really) and get good grades. If they were lucky enough, they could also fall in love if their love life wasn't planned out for them as well. Momo wasn't sure if they were even old enough to fall in love yet.

Only one person in her class had a boyfriend and, from what she heard, they were already engaged. Their parents had planned it since their birth.

"What's got you thinking so hard, Momo?" Satoshi Morinozuka asked, his hand coming into contact with Momo's head, patting her long brown hair and dislodging the bow she had tied to keep it away from her face.

"Life. Love. The future," Momo turned her attention to her classmate and friend. "Tell me, do you know what you want to be in the future, Satoshi?"

"The future?" Satoshi asked, his hand still rubbing Momo's head as he thought. "I haven't really thought about it. I guess I'll be working with the family, you know? Maybe I'd look into a college course that would support whatever it is Yasuchika has planned to take up. That's what Taka is doing."

Momo frowned. She didn't even know what course she wanted to take in college.

"What about you, Momo?"

"I don't know. I don't have a family business to take over or a man to marry." She knew some of her classmates were just going to get married when they come of age, be a couple of rich wives that do nothing but drink tea, shop, and support their husbands. "I'm just...drifting."

"Well, you're still young. You have the luxury of time," Satoshi reassured.

"You're young too, Satoshi." Momo reminded him.

"Ah, but I'm a Morinozuka so I do have a business to work in and I will eventually marry."

"Oh to be rich," Momo sighed. "Life must be so easy."

"Compared to a commoner," Satoshi grinned, knowing that Momo wouldn't be offended. She knew he didn't mean it as an insult. "Anyway, don't get too worked up. We still have to go through high school before thinking about the future."

"You're right," Momo agreed, smiling. She took Satoshi's hand away from her head and squeezed it before letting it go. "Will you be going to your club today?"

Suddenly, Satoshi's smile disappeared. "I'll be visiting Taka today."

"You'll be going to the Host Club?"

"No. Taka is going to be answering his challenge letters today," Satoshi said, handing Momo her school bag before leading her out of their classroom. "He received a bunch of them in his locker the other day."

"Challenge letters? Is...Is Mori-senpai in trouble?" Momo worried. She hadn't been to the Host Club in a while. She was too ashamed to show her face.

"Of course not, Momo!" Satoshi was quick to reassure her. "It's just that a lot of students from the martial arts clubs want to spar with Taka before he graduates!"

"I see," Momo pursed her lips. "Mori-senpai and Hani-senpai are graduating..."

"Yeah," Satoshi said, distractedly. He caught sight of his cousin walking just a few meters ahead of them. "Oi! Yasuchika! Let's visit Taka and watch his Kendo match!"

"As if I want to." Yasuchika immediately scoffed which ultimately caused Satoshi to chase after him, a glint in his eye.

Momo waved good-bye to her friends even though they were long gone. She was used to Satoshi angrily chasing after Yasuchika. It was almost a daily occurrence. Taking in a deep breath, Momo jogged towards the cafeteria. Something told her that Hani was there and she didn't want to be alone.

Hani and Mori were graduating soon and Momo didn't know how to take it. She heard from Haruhi the night before that all the guests in the Host Club, plus Tamaki, were in tears upon the realization that the Wild Type and Boy Lolita were no longer going to be around. Although Momo hardly visited the Host Club during their club hours (she was mostly there when they were packing up), she knew how their guests felt.

Momo knew that she wouldn't get to see Hani and Mori all that much once they graduate. They'd be busy with college and she'll be adjusting to high school life. She knew this since the start of their last semester. That's why she said what she said without really thinking things through.

 _Mori-senpai... I like you. No... I love you! I love you, Mori-senpai!_

* * *

"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to intrude," Momo immediately apologized when she saw that Hani and Reiko were the only ones in the cafeteria. Their table was filled with cakes and pastries and they seemed to be enjoying the sweets along with each other's presence.

Momo felt lonely, seeing them together. She knew of Reiko's feelings for the blond, she had been there when the Host Club found out about her curses towards him.

"It's fine, Momo-chan! Right, Kanazuki?" Hani said cheerily. Reiko meekly nodded, her eyes scanning Momo before turning back the cake she had in front of her. Momo thanked them before slumping into a chair, her chin on the table, her nose nearly touching the cake in front of her.

"Is something wrong, Momo-chan?" Hani asked, although her already knew what was on his kohai's mind.

"You're graduating, Hani-senpai," Momo said dejectedly. "You're leaving us behind."

Reiko had put down her fork upon hearing this. She had almost forgotten that fact and she looked to the boy next to her. Hani gave her a small smile before turning his attention back to Momo.

"Don't think of it like that, Momo-chan. I'm just leaving Ouran, I'm not leaving you guys!"

"But still!" Momo whined. "The Host Club won't be the same without you..."

"And Takashi, right?"

"...Yeah." Momo lifted her head away from the table and took a slice of cake for herself. "I heard that he was challenged."

Hani nodded, taking a bite out of his cake. "You don't need to worry, Momo-chan! Takashi can take care of himself. He's just entertaining his kohai."

"I'm not worried..." Momo mumbled. Of course she knew Mori could handle himself. He was the national champion, after all. She sighed and looked up to see Reiko starring at her. "Are you okay, Kanazuki-senpai?"

"Morinozuka-senpai has stolen your soul, hasn't he?" Reiko said, ignoring the blush that immediately appeared on Momo's face.

Hani laughed. "You're right, Kanazuki!"

"Would you like to curse him?" Reiko asked, pulling out a new eraser. "If you write his name on it and use the eraser until it's done, his soul will be yours."

Momo gulped. "Ah... I don't think–"

"If you have a mirror you can write his name on it as well. If you do so, his soul will be yours," Reiko paused. "Use pink nail polish."

"Kana–"

"Haninozuka-senpai," Reiko turned to Hani. "If you pluck a strand of Morinozuka-senpai's hair and tie it to Momo-chan's, then their souls will be intertwined."

Hani laughed. "I remember that one!" He turned to Momo. "Don't worry, Momo-chan! I'll get Takashi's hair for you!"

Momo sniffed and felt a pain in her chest. Hani's beaming face brought tears to her eyes. This whole year, Hani had done nothing but cheer her on once he found out about her feelings for his cousin. Every time she visited the Host Club, Hani would beckon her to join him at his table because if she were with him, she'd be with Mori, too. If it wasn't for Hani, Momo would have never gotten to know Mori the way she did. Sure, she didn't have the same connection he had with Hani. Truthfully, she didn't want to. If they shared that, then it would be like they were cousins, maybe even siblings, as well. No, Momo and Mori understood each other in a different way and it was all thanks to Hani. Hani was still rooting for her even though he already knew the outcome of her confession. He even got Reiko to support her.

"Hani-senpai...Kanazuki-senpai," Momo cried, their comfort overwhelming her. "Thank you so much but...I don't think those curses would make Mori-senpai's soul mine!"

"Don't cry, Momo-chan!" Hani panicked. "Takashi isn't afraid of curses! You can try every curse in Kanazuki's book! Takashi's soul will be yours!"

"He's right, Momo-chan. Keep fighting!" Reiko agreed, a burst of energy overcoming her. She loved curses, dearly, and would help Momo use them. "There's a curse where if you write his name 99 times–"

"Yes, Momo-chan!" Hani cheered. Reiko's excitement was contagious. Hani knew now that Reiko's curses were harmless and just wanted to cheer his friend up. "Write your names on chopsticks, Momo-chan! That curse will surely work!"

Momo sniffed again, covering her face with her hands. "What if... Mori-senpai already told me he didn't want me to have his soul?" She had forgotten that souls and curses had nothing to do with her situation with Mori.

"Takashi didn't say that, Momo-chan," Hani frowned.

"I know... but he might as well have," Momo wilted. "If he said that, maybe things wouldn't be this way."

"What did he tell you?" Reiko asked.

"He basically told me that I was too young to know what I was talking about," Momo wiped her eyes. She had cried over the memory so many times before and even now her heart ached whenever she thought back to it. "I know I'm young but...I also know what love is."

Reiko nodded her head in understanding. She held her hand out and asked Momo to do the same. She placed the eraser in Momo's hand and folded Momo's fingers over it.

"Take it and write his name," Reiko said as she picked up her fork. "Steal his soul. It's only right because he stole yours."

* * *

 _And here is chapter 2! This chapter more or less takes place during the events in Volume 15, Chapter 71 of the Manga!_

 _No Mori in this chapter... sad. Just an emotional Momo... sadder._

 _I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Stay tuned for the next! Please leave a review if you can :) I'd love to know what you think!_

 _I apologize for any typos or grammatical errors._

 _I only own what I own._


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